Here the author of The Twilight Years, Why the Allies Won, and the 2005 Wolfson Prize winner The Dictators presents this concise, gripping narrative of the days leading to the outbreak of World War II. Richard Overy takes readers hour by hour through the fateful decisions made in Germany, the Soviet Union, Britain, France, and Poland that set Europe's great powers on a collision course.

"Nail-biting.... With rare narrative verve, [the author] documents the ultimatums, emissaries, letters and increasingly desperate proposals that shuttled across Europe in the countdown to war."—Independent (London)

"Of course, we know how the story ends, but Overy effectively utilizes primary sources to build up dramatic tension as the clock ticks down. Some of his assertions and conclusions go against the grain and should generate controversy: Chamberlain, while not a tower of strength, had no illusions concerning Hitler's ultimate aims. The Poles may have hastened the outbreak of war by refusing to compromise over the city of Danzig. Hitler correctly anticipated a short war against Poland but neither sought nor expected a wider war. This is an interesting and often provocative description of Europe descending into an abyss."—Booklist